Five States Vote on House Seats Today

With five states holding elections today, the U.S. House of Representatives could look a bit different by the day’s end.

South Carolina, Maine, Virginia, Nevada, and North Dakota each hold elections today, and Roll Call’s Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman broke down a few of the most interesting match-ups in the House.

In South Carolina, former Governor Mark Sanford – whose stint as governor infamously ended following a high-profile extramarital relationship with a South American reporter – faces strong opposition within his state, notably from State Representative Katie Arrington, a Republican who is challenging Sanford from the right. Sanford has been unusually outspoken in his criticism of President Donald Trump, and Arrington hopes to use that to secure the seat. Roll Call notes she “has tried to make her professed loyalty to President Donald Trump a big part of her primary campaign.”

In Maine, Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin will be challenged in the 2nd District by three Democrats. Roll Call notes that the district “will use ranked-choice voting for the first time,” which “will rank each candidate on the ballot and if no one wins a majority of first-place votes, votes from the third-place finisher will be reapportioned to the other two candidates depending on those voters’ second-choice preferences.” The seat currently “leans Republican,” according to Inside Elections.

Depending on the outcome in Nevada’s open 4th district, Roll Call says it could “be one of the more unusual matchups of the cycle, pitting two former members against one another,” referencing former GOP Representative Cresent Hardy and former Democrat Representative Steven Horsford, both of whom are running in the district.

“The biggest primary to watch in the Old Dominion is in the competitive 10th District that Hillary Clinton carried by 10 points in 2016,” according to Roll Call. “Six Democrats are vying to take on two-term GOP incumbent Barbara Comstock.” The race is currently a “toss-up.”

And North Dakota’s at-large seat is up in the air following Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer’s Senate bid. The seat is expected to remain Republican.